Houston Texans Ben Tate (44), Arian Foster (23) Wade Smith and Brian Cushing take a ride to practice during Texans' Organized Team Activities at the Methodist Training Center Monday, May 20, 2013, in Houston. less

Houston Texans Ben Tate (44), Arian Foster (23) Wade Smith and Brian Cushing take a ride to practice during Texans' Organized Team Activities at the Methodist Training Center Monday, May 20, 2013, in ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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The Houston Texans Brian Cushing autographs a football during the TRISTAR Houston Collectors Show at Reliant Center Sunday, June 2, 2013, in Houston.

The Houston Texans Brian Cushing autographs a football during the TRISTAR Houston Collectors Show at Reliant Center Sunday, June 2, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: James Nielsen / Houston Chronicle

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Brian Cushing fist bumps Shiloh Keo before batting during the first J.J. Watt Charity Classic at Constellation Field on Saturday, April 27, 2013, in Sugar Land.

Brian Cushing fist bumps Shiloh Keo before batting during the first J.J. Watt Charity Classic at Constellation Field on Saturday, April 27, 2013, in Sugar Land.

Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle

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After 9 difficult months of rehab, Cushing's ready for some football

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Even though he wasn’t allowed to actually play with his friends Friday, Brian Cushing was one happy (training) camper.

Are you kidding? He was on a football field again doing football things while surrounded by football players. Heaven.

Football’s fun. Rehab isn’t.

“It just feels right to be back,” Cushing said. “It’s been a long time. (Playing football) is something I’ve done my entire life. When you trust in your preparation so much, you come out here and this is almost easy.”

Rehabbing – after surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered last October against the New York Jets on “Monday Night Football” – was a new experience. Also a difficult, unpleasant one.

“Everything I’ve done rehab-wise is a lot harder than practice,” Cushing said after the Texans’ first workout Friday morning. “It’s been a grind. It was not fun. It’s just a very redundant process, and there are a lot of the same exercises over and over. You have to work six days a week. It’s a pain, but it’s something that’s extremely necessary. It’s been a really tough couple months.”

No player was happier to return to the field than Brian Cushing, after months of rehab he finally returned to the practice field with his teammates. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

A really tough nine months to be exact. Early in his fourth year with the Texans last fall, the former first-round draft choice out of USC was on the cusp of a breakout season, both personally and team-wise. In fact, the Texans were 4-0 for the first time in franchise history when they arrived Oct. 4 at MetLife Stadium, close to where he grew up. Because family and many friends were in the stands, he was more stoked than usual, which anybody who knows Cushing realizes is saying something.

“It’s a crazy process; it’s a crazy business. There are a lot of things you never would expect and they happen,” Cushing said in an answer to a question that had nothing to with what went down in New Jersey that crisp early October evening. But that answer summed up the sudden U-turns the violent life of a professional football player can take.

To be sure, the Texans’ defensive captain couldn’t have imagined his season was going to end with 10:36 left in the second quarter when he pursued on a routine running play he had no chance to impact.

Injury leads to a rule

Just as he began pulling up, Jets left guard Matt Slauson blind-sided him with what’s now an illegal peel-back block, and Cushing stayed down, clutching his left knee in agony.

Slauson, who has since signed with the Chicago Bears, swore the hit was accidental, but he was fined $10,000, and this spring the NFL’s owners passed the “Brian Cushing Rule.” No longer can a player be taken out by such a low, dangerous block without being assessed a 15-yard penalty and, likely, a fine larger than 10 grand. While the rule change came too late to help Cushing, he’s glad his sacrifice didn’t go for naught.

“I think (my injury) is something that can be prevented,” he said, “and it will be in the future. I’m all for it.”

Cushing is back, except it’s going to be a few days, or possibly weeks, until he’s fully integrated into 11-on-11 scrimmages, never mind live game contact. That’s OK. He’ll settle for the opening night of the regular season Sept. 9 in San Diego.

He has received full clearance from the Texans’ doctors and doesn’t feel limited in any way. Working on his own with the training staff Friday – he also participated in walk-throughs with the first-team defense – he was running all out, cutting and jumping with no lost range of motion or stability.

Finding his form

“There’s nothing, no hitch or limp or any soreness,” Cushing said. “It’s gone a lot better than I ever imagined. I feel great.”

But, yes, he is thinking ahead to that first live shot he’ll take – or deliver.

“A little bit,” Cushing said. “But it’s just one hit. There will be a lot more after that.”

Then there’s the matter of his contract. It expires at the end of this season. Returning to his pre-injury self could be worth millions of dollars.

“It’s nerve-wracking if you let it be,” Cushing said. “I’m just going to play football. I know if I take care of business and play the way I’ve played, (the contract) will take care of itself. This is a serious injury to come back from, but at the same time, you put in the right work, you can be better than ever.”

‘He’s on a mission’

And that, he emphasized, is his goal, not merely “getting back to normal.”

“He’s the emotional leader of this team in a lot of ways,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “What he went through last year, having to watch us play for three months, it was very difficult on him. He’s got some ground to make up and he knows that. But I’m looking forward to watching him do it because I know he’s on a mission.”